USPS Offering 'Informed Delivery' Notification

Want to see what’s headed to your mailbox before it gets there? We’re talking about your physical mailbox at your house.

The U.S. Postal Service is trying out a new service (actually, it’s been around since last year in parts of Northern Virginia) that will email you photos of your mail before it arrives. They call it “Informed Delivery.”

Why would anyone want that?

The U.S. Postal Service points out that its Informed Delivery™ lets users see their mail delivery wherever, whenever – even as they travel or when using their mobile devices. (So if you’re looking for a special letter from say, Santa or maybe the IRS, you can be sure of what’s headed your way.)

In some instances, users will have the ability to interact with digital content associated with some of their mail images (i.e., related links, etc.), the U.S. Postal Service notes.

You can register here for the free service, but you must live in the following ZIP codes in Northern Virginia:

The service has been available in select ZIP Code ™ locations in Northern Virginia since 2014 starting with the following three digits: 201, 220, 221, 222, 223, 226, 227. Parts of New York City and Connecticut were added this fall. Expansion to other areas is being considered for 2016.

Right now, the post office says that you’ll only be provided with images for letter-sized mailings that are processed through automated equipment. The plan is to include images of larger flat-sized mailings, such as magazines and catalogues, in the future. For packages, all USPS® customers have access to USPS Tracking® that enables them to track their packages.

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